3229 Tasting Notes

I had a pretty rough/emotional evening yesterday, which turned into some depressing nightmares, which is what I’ve been left with this morning. :( Nothing like starting off the day with some heartache, and feeling helpless that there’s nothing I can do to change things. Anyhow, I opted to brew up some samples that I’ve had for ages, in a (probably futile) attempt to make myself feel better.

This one made the cut, as I was looking for something a bit heavier this morning. Brewed up, it smells much more reminiscent of ETS’ Scottish Caramel Toffee Pu’erh, or whatever it is called, than the DavidsTea version of a chocolate orange pu’erh. So basically, I’m detecting delicious caramelly flavours, and really no orange whatsoever. On the sip, I’m pretty much getting the same. Caramelly yum, and maybe just the barest hint of orange. Strangely, I’m not really getting chocolate here either. I could probably be convinced that someone swapped my sample for the Scottish Caramel Toffee Pu’erh, actually (except that there were clearly orange pieces in my baggie!)

So in the end, this tea loses major points for not being chocolatey OR orangey…. however I am very much enjoying my cup of it in spite of that. Since a) this tea is unavailable now anyhow, and b) I tend to rate teas more heavily weighted on flavour than how true the flavour is to the name, I’m going to ignore entirely that fact and rate it high, because it’s very yum.

Also, I should note that I used about 2.5 tsp in my mug (~10-12oz.) to compensate for tea age. I suspect this will re-steep decently, so will probably throw the remaining 1/2-1 tsp of tea into the infuser for the re-steep to use it up. Not that I’m anxious to get rid of it, just…. sipdown! :D

ETA: Re-steep, 4 min at boiling, using the extra leaf, actually has some orange flavour! Shocking :P Still caramelly but less so, and still not getting chocolate. I’m getting a bit of the throat-scratchy feeling now that I get with the DavidsTea version… still can’t figure out what the deal with that is, since I’m pretty sure it doesn’t happen to me with other pu’erhs, but it does happen with rooibos, yet not honeybush. Hrrrrrm.

Yum. I think I might have underleafed/understeeped this one a touch today, but it’s still really good. Almost gone, though! But that’s ok, as I have a sample from Upton, and the rest of my DavidsTea pouch to get through as well. Yum, earl grey creams are the best…. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to the non-cream version.

Preparation

Ahhh, this one’s so good! I think it reminds me a bit of DavidsTea’s Checkmate, although the two teas really aren’t super similar. Either way, I travel mugged this one today and drank it cool after my post-surgery nap (yeah, getting a mole removed totally counts as surgery!! It hurts and I got stitches and everything.)

At some point, I’m definitely getting 2 oz. of this one. Yummers. But for now, I just have a sample pack left (because oh yeah, this was a sipdown of the sample pack I got a few months back!)

sigh Sad to say that I’m sipping this sample from Missy and Dylan down… this was a pretty tasty tea! I think it may have lost a bit of flavour during “storage”, but it’s still quite good, with light citrus and a hint of ginger.

Another sipdown of a tea from Alphakitty! Entertainingly, I had pretty much the same impression of this one on my second go-round as my first, in spite of absolutely no recollection of the previous time I drank this! (I knew I had, just was misremembering it as being more of a straight TGY oolong).

It’s not bad, but a jasmine-flavoured oolong is not something I’d reach for…. ever, likely. Too much floral, and I’m not really one for floral. I’d much prefer a straight TGY or a milk oolong. So, it was neat to try a magnolia-scented tea, but not an experience I will likely feel the need to repeat!

Preparation

Whoops, guess this is another one I’ve had for a while. Anyhow, my feelings on it don’t seem to have changed… in fact, I’m probably finding it even less interesting now. A fruity-ish green pretty much lacking in tea flavour. And I don’t think it’s age, or understeeping, or anything here, this is just not a very interesting tea.

Sadly this wasn’t a sipdown… I still have a cup or two left of this. Sil? Indigobloom? Raritea?

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I have always been a tea fan (primarily herbals and Japanese greens/oolongs) but in the last year or so, tea has become increasingly more appealing as not only a delicious, calming drink, but as a relatively cheap, healthy reward or treat to give myself when I deserve something. I should clarify that, however; the reward is expanding my tea cupboard, not drinking tea – I place no restrictions on myself in terms of drinking anything from my cupboard as that would defeat my many goals!

My DavidsTea addiction was born in late 2011, despite having spent nearly a year intentionally avoiding their local mall location (but apparently it was just avoiding the inevitable!). I seem to have some desire to try every tea they’ve ever had, so much of my stash is from there, although I’ve recently branched out and ordered from numerous other companies.

I like to try and drink all my teas unaltered, as one of the main reasons I’m drinking tea other than for the flavour is to be healthy and increase my water intake without adding too many calories! I’ve found that the trick in this regard is to be very careful about steeping time, as most teas are quite pleasant to drink straight as long as they haven’t been oversteeped. However, I tend to be forgetful (particularly at work) when I don’t set a timer, resulting in a few horrors (The Earl’s Garden is not so pleasant after, say, 7+ minutes of steeping).

I’m currently trying to figure out which types of teas are my favourites. Herbals are no longer at the top; oolongs have thoroughly taken over that spot, with greens a reasonably close second. My preference is for straight versions of both, but I do love a good flavoured oolong (flavoured greens are really hit or miss for me). Herbals I do love iced/cold-brewed, but I drink few routinely (Mulberry Magic from DavidsTea being a notable exception). I’m learning to like straight black teas thanks to the chocolatey, malty, delicious Laoshan Black from Verdant Tea, and malty, caramelly flavoured blacks work for me, but I’m pretty picky about anything with astringency. Lately I’ve found red rooibos to be rather medicinal, which I dislike, but green rooibos and honeybush blends are tolerable. I haven’t explored pu’erh, mate, or guayasa a great deal (although I have a few options in my cupboard).

I’ve decided to institute a rating system so my ratings will be more consistent. Following the smiley/frowny faces Steepster gives us:

100: This tea is amazing and I will go out of my way to keep it in stock.

85-99: My core collection (or a tea that would be, if I was allowing myself to restock everything!) Teas I get cravings for, and drink often.

75-84: Good but not amazing; I might keep these in stock sparingly depending on current preferences.

67-74: Not bad, I’ll happily finish what I have but probably won’t ever buy it again as there’s likely something rated more highly that I prefer.

51-66: Drinkable and maybe has some aspect that I like, but not really worth picking up again.

34-50: Not for me, but I can see why others might like it. I’ll make it through the cup and maybe experiment with the rest to get rid of it.

0-33: It’s a struggle to get through the cup, if I do at all. I will not willingly consume this one again, and will attempt to get rid of the rest of the tea if I have any left.